Reflecting on ourselves

A Chinese scholar suggested America re-examine its foreign policy.

Zhiyong Zhou

Ibrahim Kang, a young Chinese scholar who came to the University of Oregon early this year, revealed his perspective on the Sept. 11 tragedy and its aftermath.

"I wish the U.S. would win and end its action in Afghanistan as soon as possible," Kang said. "I pray in my mind that they will help the Afghan establish a democratic government there."

The scholar, who grew up in a remote Muslim community in northern China, recalled how he was impressed by the speeches of President George W. Bush, Osama bin Laden, and former President Bill Clinton.

Ibrahim Kang

He explained that the Crusades brought great suffering to the Middle East Muslims and remain fresh in the memory of the modern Islamic world.

Bush later regretted his wording, saying that he used the word to conve a "broad cause" to stamp out terrorism worldwide.

Along a similar line, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld renamed the U.S. anti-terrorism action, using "Enduring Freedom" to replace the initial name, "Infinite Justice."

Kang delved into bin Laden's justification for the Sept. 11 attacks. "His speech reflects the hatred as a remnant of the colonialism in the history," Kang said. "By instigating anti-American sentiments among Muslims, bin Laden is exploiting Islam to gain support for his actions."

In a strongly worded speech broadcast on Arabic station Al-Jazeera in October, bin Laden, the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 attack and the FBI's number-one wanted person, said, "What the United States tastes today is a very small thing compared to what we have tasted for tens of years."

"They (the United States and its alliance) came out to fight Islam in the name of terrorism."

Kang said that he didn't feel comfortable with such dichotomy as "we Islam" and "they Christianity."

He explained that religion, whether Christianity, Islam, Buddhism or any other, is sublime and should not be exploited for political and economic interests, he said.

Kang was born in a traditional Muslim family. He once spent years in meditating the deep meaning of the holy books. He translated several classic Islamic books into Chinese and got one published in China. Earlier this year, Kang came to Eugene, joining his wife, Zhihong Chen, a second-year Ph.D. student in the Department of History.

"The victims are innocent," Kang said. "The Koran prohibits killing of the innocent. It is absolutely wrong to kill the innocent in the name of Islam."

He cautioned that it was necessary to fight terrorism, yet it was wrong to connect terrorism to Islam. At any time, the target should be terrorists, not the Muslims or the Arab countries.

Kang attributes the tragedy partly to a double-standard in U.S. foreign policy. One example he gave was U.S. policy toward Iraq and Israel. When Iraq invaded Kuwait, the United States immediately reacted and punished Iraq. But what happened when Israel occupied the Palestinian land? Decades passed, and it did nothing to stop the Israelis, he said.

"That has been a fuse to the hatred mentality among Arabic countries towards the U.S.," Kang said. "Such malcontent mentality nurtured the attackers. I think the Laden-style feeling of revenge will not end if the U.S. continues its double-standard foreign policy."

In contrast to his disappointment with the rhetoric of Bush and bin Laden, Kang said he was indeed encouraged by Bill Clinton's speech.

In a speech to almost 1,000 students at Georgetown University on Nov. 7, the former president said that America was born in slavery and is still paying cost for its wrongdoing in the history. Clinton called on the nation "to reach out and engage the Muslim world in a debate."

"I see hope for a better future in his speech," Kang said.

Feeling disgusted with the delicate religious repression policy by the Communist Party in China, he could not help expressing his joy when he met some non-Muslim women wearing veils in the wake of Sept. 11. "They are very nice. The community is really supportive to religious tolerance," Kang said.

As the United States sped up its action in Afghanistan, Kang hoped that the country would support a democratic government in Afghanistan as it did in Japan after the World War II.

"Will America do that? I have a question mark," Kang said. "Only a democratic government can lift Afghanistan above the miserable situation. The Afghan should live like human creatures, not like animals. The ultimate victory over terrorism lies in our willingness to reflect on ourselves."

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